Books by John Prendergast

Blog Posts in Justice and Accountability

On, May 2, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing last week’s decision from the African Union Peace and Security Council. The resolution calls for, among other things, the immediate cessation of hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan and the two sides’ unconditional return, within two weeks, to negotiations under the facilitation of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, or AUHIP, with support from the Chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD. The resolution further requires that the negotiations must conclude within three months. If a resolution cannot be reached within that time period, the resolution requests that the U.N. Secretary-General, in conjunction with the AUHIP, the Chair of IGAD, and the Chairman of the A.U. Commission, submit a report to include “detailed proposals on all outstanding issues.”

In a letter sent today to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a coalition of 142 Congolese and international human rights organizations—including the Enough Project, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and 132 Congolese civil society organizations—called on the U.S. to provide urgent diplomatic leadership supporting the governments of Congo and Rwanda in the arrest of the notorious warlord Bosco Ntaganda.

On Wednesday, April 25, the Supreme Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo ruled that at least 32 members of Parliament were not rightfully elected to their positions, including 17 members of President Kabila’s ruling alliance and 15 members of the opposition. Nearly 100 additional sitting MP’s may also face legal scrutiny regarding election results.

The mutiny instigated by Bosco Ntaganda of mostly ex-CNDP officers in early April died down relatively quickly across North and South Kivu, with most defectors turning themselves in or being arrested—except for in the Masisi territory. Soon after the rebellion started, Bosco himself retreated to his sanctuary in Masisi and his firm loyalists, who have temporarily flirted with the idea of redeploying elsewhere, are now back in the territory as well.

In recent days the renewed hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan have caught the world’s attention. However, the back-and-forth between the two countries has often been difficult to follow. In light of this, the Enough Project has produced a new timeline to chronicle the often confusing events along the border and in the negotiating room.